Incarceration among Non-custodial Parents: Findings from Maryland Research

Pamela C. Ovwigho, Ph.D.Family Welfare Research & Training Group

University of Maryland – School of Social Work

Affinity forum on working with incarcerated & previously incarcerated obligorsLutherville, md * December 12, 2006

Research funded by the Child Support Enforcement Administration, Maryland Department of Human Resources

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Incarceration & parenting:

At the end of last year, a record 7 million people in prison/jail, on probation or on parole.

Nationally 2.2 million were in prison or jail.

Drug offenses account for 49% of total prison population growth.

The vast majority of prisoners are male. At least three-fifths of them are parents.

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Maryland’s Study

Goal is to examine current & historical incarceration among Maryland child support obligors.

Initial report focuses on: Prevalence Case characteristicsArrearsPayment patterns

Also in presentation: Types of offensesEmployment histories

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MethodRandom sample of 2,375 NCPs with an active child support case in Maryland in September 2004.

95% confidence level and a 2% error rate.

Child support data from Child Support Enforcement System (CSES)

Employment data from Maryland Unemployment Insurance wage records (MABS)

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MethodData on incarceration in Maryland prisons & the Baltimore City Detention Center - extract file developed by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services specifically for this study.*

Covers a ten year period (10/94-9/04)

Underestimates because data does not include information on county jails in Maryland’s 23 counties.

Because we don’t have data from the county jails, Baltimore City looks “worse” and the 23 counties look “better”.

*Research Disclaimer: Data was supplied for this study by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Although the Department is unable to certify the accuracy and completeness of the data with regard to each subject of this Study, the researchers have nonetheless made every attempt to accurately and appropriately interpret the data supplied.

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Prevalence

79.4% 74.0% 76.7%

15.3%22.5%

18.9%

10%13%

3%

3%

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%18%

Percent ofO bligors

Percent ofCases

C urren tly Incarcerated

P reviously Incarcerated

Currently & previously incarcerated individuals account for 13% of Maryland’s child support obligors & 16% of its cases.

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Jurisdictional Differences

6 .1%

24 .2%

11 .4%

3.8%

2.2%

5.3%

2.1%

4.7%

0 .0%

5.0%

10 .0%

15 .0%

20 .0%

25 .0%

30 .0%

35 .0%

C ounties B altim oreC ity

C ounties B altim oreC ity

% o

f ch

ild s

uppo

rt c

ases

C urrently incarcera ted

P reviously incarcera ted

All DPSCS Division of Corrections(18 mos or more)

Incarceration is more common among Baltimore City cases.

Note: Because we don’t have data from the county jails, the All DPSCS comparison overstates the differences between Baltimore City & the 23 counties. The Division of Corrections comparison is a more accurate estimate of those geographic differences.

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Case type differences

2 .4%

7.9%

18 .3%21 .5%

3.7%

7.4%

0 .0%

5.0%

10 .0%

15 .0%

20 .0%

25 .0%

30 .0%

35 .0%

Never T A NF F orm er T A NF C urrent T A NF

% o

f ch

ild s

uppo

rt c

ases

C urrently incarcera ted

P reviously incarcera ted

Incarceration is twice as common among current & former TANF cases.

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Case status differences

27 .1% 24 .0%

47 .1%

41 .2%

58 .7% 57 .7%

11 .8%18 .3%14 .3%

0.0%

10 .0%

20 .0%

30 .0%

40 .0%

50 .0%

60 .0%

70 .0%

80 .0%

90 .0%

100 .0%

N ever Incarcerated P reviouslyIncarcerated

C urren tlyIncarcerated

Arrears O n ly

C u rren t O rd er

E stab lish m en t

Cases with a currently incarcerated obligor are more likely to require establishment.

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Order amount differences

$378

$257$278

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

NeverIn carcera ted

P rev io u s lyIn carcera ted

C u rren tlyIn carcera ted

Mo

nth

ly S

up

po

rt O

rder

ed

Am

ou

nt

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Currently & previously incarcerated obligors have lower orders for current support than never incarcerated obligors.

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Child support debt

82.1% with

Arrears

Never Incarcerated

Mean: $9,392.05

96.8% with

Arrears

Previously Incarcerated

Mean: $17,254.71

100.0% with

Arrears

Currently Incarcerated

Mean: $22,047.68

Previously & currently incarcerated obligors are more likely to owe arrears and have higher average child support debts.

*Excludes cases needing establishment.

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Types of arrears

80.2%83.3%

68.1%

63.9%

30.7%

62.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

Nev erIncarcerated

Prev iouslyIncarcerated

CurrentlyIncarcerated

C ustod ian

S tate

Previously & currently incarcerated obligors are two times more likely to owe arrears to the state than those who’ve never been incarcerated.

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Incarceration & total arrears

74 .7%59 .4%

20 .1%34 .5%

6.1%5.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

S ta tew id e B a ltim o re C ity

C u rren tly In carcera ted

P rev io u s ly In carcera ted

Never In carcera ted

At least one-quarter of arrears owed on Maryland cases are owed by previously & currently incarcerated obligors. Two-fifths of Baltimore City

arrears are owed by obligors who are or have been incarcerated.

Note: Because we do not have data from the county jails, the differences between Baltimore City and the state as a whole are overestimates.

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Arrears accumulation

37.0%

63.0%

43.7%

56.3%

38.2%

61.8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

P reviouslyIncarcerated

C urrentlyIncarcerated

Tota l Incarcerated

N o tin ca rce ra te d

W h ileIn ca rce ra te d

Estimated Average Percent of Arrears Accumulated

On average, an estimated two-fifths of previously & currently incarcerated obligors’ arrears accumulated while they were in prison.

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Types of Offenses

2.5% 3.8%

22.0%

31.8%

50.6%

14.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

Murder

Sexual offense/rape

Assault

Theft & burglary

Drug offense

Other

Four out of five NCPs with an incarceration history have been convicted of a drug offense, theft, and/or assault.

Note: Each currently or formerly incarcerated individual can be convicted of multiple offenses. However, they are counted only once for each type. Percentages across categories will sum to more than 100%.

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Employment History

Majority of obligors have worked in a UI-covered job in the previous ten years.

Difference in the percent of time employed.

54%

38%

25%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

% e

mp

loy

ed

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

% o

f ti

me

wo

rke

d

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Earnings History

$2 ,598

$2 ,124

$5 ,094

$0 $2 ,000 $4 ,000 $6 ,000

A verageQ uarte rly

E arnings inthe P reviousT en Years***

C urrently incarcera ted

P reviously incarcera ted

Never incarcera ted

NCPs with an incarceration history earned about half as much per quarter, on average, as those who have not been

incarcerated.

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Earnings History

$49,391

$31,536

$132,189

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000

A verage T o talE arnings in the

P revio us 10Years***

Never incarcera ted P reviously incarcera ted C urrently incarcera ted

In the previous 10 years, NCPs with an incarceration history earned, in total, only 25% to 37% of what never incarcerated NCPs earned.

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Employment in the Prior Year

47 .9%

49 .6%$22 ,583

$12 ,664

47.0%

47.5%

48.0%

48.5%

49.0%

49.5%

50.0%

Never Inc arc erated P revious ly Inc arc erated

% e

mp

loye

d

$0

$5,000

$10,000

$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

Ave

rag

e to

tal

earn

ing

s

In the previous year, about half of all obligors. Those with an incarceration history earned significantly less.

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Child support payments after release

Support Paid 10/03-9/04 Previously Incarcerated

Never Incarcerated

% paying any support*** 61.0% 79.1%

Total amount paid (mean)*** $2,210.78 $3,918.93

% of current support paid (mean)*** 53.5% 75.1%

Previously incarcerated obligors are less likely to pay support & pay less than never incarcerated obligors. However, most still pay something.

*p < .05 **p< .01 ***p < .001

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Conclusions & Implications

Significant overlap among incarceration, child support, & welfare programs points to wisdom of policy and program attention.

Incarceration may be an issue in all areas: order establishment; order modification; payments after release; arrears.

Collaboration and education are very important, as well as reentry and employment programs.

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Thank you!

To obtain a copy of the full report visit our website:

http://www.familywelfare.umaryland.edu

For more information on this study, please send an e-mail:

povwigho@ssw.umaryland.edu